Star Trek TNG: Season 2 Flash Reviews

# of episodes

episode average

2.52

series Top 20

series Flop 20

1 episode

3 episodes

SEASON BEST

The Measure of a Man

Q Who

Loud as a Whisper

Elementary, Dear Data

Pen Pals

SEASON WORST

The Outrageous Okona

Shades of Gray

The Schizoid Man

Unnatural Selection

Where Silence Has Lease

2.1 THE CHILD

WORTH WATCHING

A fast-growing alien life-form impregnates Troi.

An unusual start for a season, but also a simple and painless way to present several changes: Dr. Pulaski as chief medical officer, Guinan as bartender and additional counselor, Geordi as new chief engineer, Worf as security chief, and of course the ever-present Wesley drama. In this sense, the script is perfectly tailored to introducing all these changes. The story itself suffers a bit as a result, for neither the “child” nor the deadly virus subplots receive the due attention. Still, it all works seamlessly, and the awkwardness of S1 is kept at a minimum. It’s the first episode of the “new” TNG, the transition period that is S2 before the show truly finds its feet in S3. It’s also one of the better Troi-centered episodes in the show’s early run. Excellent ending.

2.2 WHERE SILENCE HAS LEASE

The ship is trapped in a region of void space.

SKIPPABLE

By Star Trek standards this isn’t a particularly tough predicament for the crew to be in... and yet they pretty much freak out and it takes them a while to figure things out. This amount of overreaction is quite out of character, and though that would have been more forgivable in the first season, it is quite annoying here. Despite that, the episode is decently written and its premise is genuinely intriguing. However, the villain Nagilum is so entirely laughable that it cannot be taken seriously, which detracts significantly from the immersion factor and ultimately dooms the episode to the trash bin.

2.3 ELEMENTARY, DEAR DATA

Data's Sherlock Holmes holodeck program goes awry.

SEASON TOP 5

The rare excellent holodeck period piece, at once entertaining and thought-provoking. In many ways this is the first installment of the hologram rights story arc that runs throughout Star Trek. Professor Moriarty is a carefully written character, and Daniel Davis’s performance hits all the right notes. The lucid and levelheaded Picard-Moriarty conversation is among the best in the show, and it is wonderful to see a resolution achieved by dialogue and not by action, a device that TNG will come to rely on more frequently in its later seasons. Despite a few cringe-worthy moments and the occasional overacting by Spiner as Sherlock Holmes, this stands as one of the best episodes of S2, as well as a milestone for the show and the franchise.

2.4 THE OUTRAGEOUS OKONA

SERIES FLOP 20

A rogue adventurer is wanted by the ruling families of two worlds.

A completely humorless farce with nothing to say and an irritating lead character. It would take some years for Star Trek writers to get comedy right, and it wouldn’t be until VOY that they did. At this point, “zany” and “awkward” still passes for funny... except that it isn’t. The secondary plot with Data, Guinan, and guest star Joe Piscopo isn’t much better, though it is instrumental to Data’s future development. Overall, a forgettable episode and among the show’s worst.

2.5 LOUD AS A WHISPER

A deaf mediator is the only hope for peace on a warring planet.

SEASON TOP 5

An excellent little drama that anticipates Star Trek’s future love affair with theater pieces. By that I mean those scripts that rely heavily on one-on-one conversations and that could reasonably take place on a stage with minimal props; examples are TNG’s “Frame of Mind” or DS9’s “Duet.” This episode is slow, reasoned, and cautious, and yet never feels like it drags its feet. The twist halfway through, while not exactly shocking, effectively creates a new conflict, one whose resolution is astonishing. Not surprisingly, this episode is frequently shown in psychology and leadership college classes, and it lays the groundwork for TNG’s later seasons’ frequent emphasis on intercultural diplomacy. The dialogue between Riva and LaForge is also a breath of fresh air, as it succeeds in avoiding many common ableist pitfalls in an age (the 1980s) where disability on TV was still heavily tokenized.

2.6 THE SCHIZOID MAN

SERIES FLOP 20

A dying cyberneticist finds a way to upload his consciousness to Data.

Creepy sexist old man transfers himself in an android body... and we should care why? A predictable and boring episode with a completely detestable character in Ira Graves. And while Spiner’s performance is as good as usual, it still cannot rescue a hopeless script that elects to focus on petty drama instead of analyzing a philosophical dilemma. The transference of human consciousness into a non-organic form is a thrilling notion that deserved better than this shoddy script. Unfortunately, TNG’s only other shot at this premise (S6’s “The Nth Degree”) is equally disappointing. First appearance of Suzie Plakson as Dr. Selar; later in the season as well as in S3 she will play the much more influential K’Ehleyr.

2.7 UNNATURAL SELECTION

SKIPPABLE

A genetic experiment gone wrong causes super-fast aging.

This episode has a glaring hole smack-dab in the middle of its plot: genetic research on live human subjects is at best ethically dubious, especially when its side effects are so bad. Yet there’s no mention of this. The episode centers on a technical problem and so much emotional baggage is placed on Pulaski trying to prove that “the children are innocent.” Yes AND they are also victims of a murderous experiment, a fact that is mentioned only in passing! It’s hard to take the technobabble seriously once you realize that everyone in the Federation is apparently okay with unethical research.

2.8 A MATTER OF HONOR

Riker participates in an officer exchange program on a Klingon warship.

WORTH WATCHING

An important episode in the ongoing attempts by TNG writers to redefine the Klingon-Federation relationship. Riker’s exchange experience is a lot more interesting than the eventual “return visit” by Korn in S3, as there are more actual discussions of intercultural relations and a lot less caricaturing. The eventual crisis and resolution is well crafted and gives Riker a chance to shine in a way that he hasn’t since the first season; as a result, this episode is also crucial for his own character development. A weak secondary plot with Wesley and the Benzite transfer officer does nothing to enhance the goal of showing that intolerance is only combated by exposure: the main plot does quite enough to argue that on its own accord.

2.9 THE MEASURE OF A MAN

Data is put on trial to establish whether he's a person or an object.

SERIES TOP 20

An absolutely astounding piece of science-fiction writing. This episode is TNG’s first masterpiece and firmly among its best overall. One wouldn’t think that the trite trial format is the best way to analyze a philosophical dilemma such as whether machines are persons, and yet it provides the perfect means for reasoned debate. Riker’s role as the accuser despite himself is well crafted and never banal, and the full extent of Picard’s humane literacy shines in his defense. Speaking now as a professional philosopher, I find it amazing that the script manages to have this level of sophistication. Not only does it eschew many of the pitfalls that you would expect out of such an emotional episode, but it succeeds in distinguishing concepts that are subtly but crucially distinct (e.g., the difference between being alive, being aware, being sentient, and being a person). If we must find a downside to this episode is that its view of ethical rights is excessively black-or-white: not all persons have all rights in all the same ways, just as not all persons are persons in the same way. But this is amply forgivable, as any more philosophizing would have put the script on just the wrong side of the line between erudite and pedantic. As it is, this episode is a staple of all my philosophy classes, and it is a triumph of excellent writing for TNG.

2.10 THE DAUPHIN

SKIPPABLE

A young heir to an alien planet's throne falls for Wesley Crusher.

This episode might have been more interesting if it hadn’t shown its hand quite so early. With the mystery gone, the script is reduced to an odd soap opera with a teen affair and creepy shapeshifters. The ending is as trite as the plot that precedes it, with an out-of-character change of heart dictated purely by the script’s need for a conclusion that wouldn’t carry over into the next episode. Also, the script spends remarkably little time on discussing the shapeshifters’ species (and nothing rules out that they may be members of the Dominion!). Plus, the episode’s so-what plot arc — Salia’s destiny as a ruler — remains inexplicably unsolved. In the end, Guinan is among the few salvageable parts of this script, as usual, thanks to a majestic Whoopi.

2.11 CONTAGION

SKIPPABLE

An ancient computer virus destroys the Enterprise's sister ship.

Two important firsts in this episode: the first real skirmish with Romulans, with the typical standoff/stalemate scenario reminiscent of US-USSR Cold War narratives; and the first mention of Picard’s passion for archaeology and history. Both would become frequent recurrences in future seasons, sometimes together. The destruction of the Yamato is fairly procedural and doesn’t add much to the pathos. On the other hand, the Iconia scenes are thought-provoking, but the writers may not have grasped the full potential of the transport technology: with such great power, the Iconians could have been portrayed as cosmic progenitors to a variety of Alpha Quadrant races. S6’s “The Chase” would fill this lacuna, though far from perfectly.

2.12 THE ROYALE

WORTH WATCHING

The crew find a 20th-century American hotel on an alien planet.

The usual TNG period piece driven by one of a handful of pretexts: fantasy, holography, time travel, alien recreations, etc. However, as an instance of the latter scenario this one is remarkably original. While the concept is not new, it’s put to good use by a script that genuinely keeps you guessing: at no point is it fully predictable, for just like a good old-fashioned mystery novel it keeps its cards disguised until at least the halfway point. Unfortunately, the episode is also garnished with the usual mediocre stock characters, like the clueless bimbo and the hardened gambler. This, plus quite a bit of filler in the two central acts, drags the story along more than it has a right to. Still, scenes like Data cheating at dice and the discovery of the astronaut make for a pretty entertaining hour without much thought behind it — just like Col. Richey’s pulp novel!

2.13 TIME SQUARED

WORTH WATCHING

The crew find a time-displaced double of Picard adrift in a shuttlecraft.

Time travel 101. This episode does for TNG what “Parallax” and “Time and Again” will do for VOY, hand-holding viewers through a simple and carefully crafted time paradox. It makes sense, too, as future time travel plots will get increasingly complex. Likewise, this is the only time in all of Star Trek that the crew’s reaction to a time paradox is sensible: instead of being dismissed as an eerie oddity, here it is portrayed as frightening and consciousness-altering, as one presumes that it may be in real life. In the end, the episode works remarkably well. It is entertaining both psychologically and from a standpoint of reason, and its resolution at the end works on both levels.

2.14 THE ICARUS FACTOR

SKIPPABLE

Riker attempts to reconcile the difficult rapport with his father.

“Daddy issues” plots are minefields, since way too often they are employed to excuse bad parenting and coddle emotionally insecure men looking for acceptance (“oh he was such a terrible father BUT hey he‘s trying now so let’s just call it even because nobody’s perfect”). This one is no different, even though, also like many bad fathers, it has a few redeeming qualities. The relationship between William Riker and Kyle RIker is complex and no doubt realistic in some ways, but it’s hard to sympathize with as unlikable a character as Kyle. Nor was that the point, given the eventual reconciliation of father than son. The battle scene is quite laughable, too. Pulaski’s and Troi’s conversation about gender roles is the only good thing in this episode, but that is not good enough.

2.15 PEN PALS

SEASON TOP 5

Data violates the Prime Directive by rescuing an alien child from a dying planet.

What begins as a lighthearted episode soon turns into a fascinating drama on the Prime Directive. The dialogue in Picard’s quarters ranks among the best in all of TNG as far as sophistication, with exceptional clarity and a lucid appreciation of the ethical dilemmas of interventionism. The plot’s secondary focus on a geological problem is more entertaining than it has any right to be, and despite some inevitable silliness in the Data-Sarjenka relationship, the psychology works well too. Spiner is especially capable in playing an emotionless character in an emotional role. The resolution feels too much like a deus ex machina, though it makes sense within the lore of the show. In addition, interspersed throughout the story are many insightful conversations, from good parenting to the nature of authority. The script is particularly well written in general, and few episodes like this one are able to give each main character several good moments.

2.16 Q WHO

SEASON TOP 5

Q transports the ship halfway across the galaxy to warn them about the Borg.

A historic episode for TNG and all of ST, for it introduces the best foe in the whole franchise: the Borg. What’s astounding 30+ years later is how close to the final Borg concept the writers were already, for here we find many of their eventual key traits: the collective mind, the hive, the self-repair, the interest in technology, and the general modus operandi. Only the bit about reproduction (the “cyber-babies”) has been retconned later, though it’d be done well. As a self-contained drama, too, this episode strikes all the right chords, from a tense buildup to a wholly creepy first-contact scenario. The resolution is a deus ex machina, but that’s not a downside here, for that is built into the fabric of the plot: the very point is that Q is guiding humanity along a path to cosmic evolution, albeit in his impish ways, and in few other episodes Picard acknowledges this fact as well as he does here. In fact, the best part of this episode is that the main enemy isn’t the Borg, but human stubbornness: we won’t find another episode in ST (or in any recent show) where the heroes win by admitting defeat. Last but not least, Guinan’s character is never quite so interesting, and though later episodes would be even more enigmatic about her past, here we get the feeling that the writers were toying with the idea of her being an ex-Q.

2.17 SAMARITAN SNARE

WATCH FOR CONTINUITY

Picard travels to a starbase for maintenance surgery on his artificial heart.

[review coming soon]

2.18 UP THE LONG LADDER

SKIPPABLE

Two colonies with radically different habits attempt to coexist.

This is a typical episode that one would expect to see in S1: interesting ideas that receive little or no analysis in favor of a few cheap thrills or poor attempts at comedy. The basic idea is valid: a colony that relies on cloning for reproduction and one who opted to live in a backwards way. Too bad that neither of these two choices (quite uncommon in the world of utopian sci-fi such as ST) receives sufficient attention. The script’s sexism is also quite annoying, even more so than the occasional disregard for gender equality that one should expect from a show filmed in the 1980s. The character of the leader’s daughter, especially, seems straight out of a 1950s novel.

2.19 MANHUNT